Bowl barrow 520m west of Higher Welsford

A Scheduled Monument in Hartland, Devon

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Coordinates

Latitude: 50.9644 / 50°57'51"N

Longitude: -4.4609 / 4°27'39"W

OS Eastings: 227286.828001

OS Northings: 121217.726572

OS Grid: SS272212

Mapcode National: GBR K5.MKRX

Mapcode Global: FRA 16JK.KX1

Entry Name: Bowl barrow 520m west of Higher Welsford

Scheduled Date: 29 October 1999

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1017138

English Heritage Legacy ID: 32236

County: Devon

Civil Parish: Hartland

Traditional County: Devon

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Devon

Church of England Parish: Hartland St Nectan

Church of England Diocese: Exeter

Details

This monument includes a bowl barrow situated on a high upland ridge known as
Welsford Moor overlooking the valley of a tributary to Seckington Water.
The monument survives as a circular mound which measures 21.5m in diameter and
is 0.5m high. The surrounding quarry ditch from which material to construct
the mound was derived is preserved as a buried feature which measures
approximately 3m wide. This barrow represents an outlier to a nearby round
barrow cemetery which is the subject of a separate scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

Bowl barrows, the most numerous form of round barrow, are funerary monuments
dating from the Late Neolithic period to the Late Bronze Age, with most
examples belonging to the period 2400-1500 BC. They were constructed as
earthen or rubble mounds, sometimes ditched, which covered single or multiple
burials. They occur either in isolation or grouped as cemeteries and often
acted as a focus for burials in later periods. Often superficially similar,
although differing widely in size, they exhibit regional variations in form
and a diversity of burial practices. There are over 10,000 surviving bowl
barrows recorded nationally (many more have already been destroyed), occurring
across most of lowland Britain. Often occupying prominent locations, they are
a major historic element in the modern landscape and their considerable
variation of form and longevity as a monument type provide important
information on the diversity of beliefs and social organisations amongst early
prehistoric communities. They are particularly representative of their period
and a substantial proportion of surviving examples are considered worthy of
protection.

The bowl barrow 520m west of Higher Welsford survives comparatively well,
despite reduction in its height through cultivation, and will contain
archaeological information relating to the construction and use of the
monument as well as environmental evidence concerning the surrounding
landscape.

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